PALYNOLOGICAL DATA FROM THE TERRAMARA S. ROSA DI POVIGLIO: RECONSTRUCTION OF THE PO PLAIN LANDSCAPE DURING THE BRONZE AGE

Palynology adds information to archaeological and geoarchaeological analyses detailing changes in land use and land cover on a long-term perspective due to climatic and anthropogenic factors. This palynological research is based on the analysis of about 300 pollen samples from three cores [1,3] collected at different distances from the Terramara S. Rosa di Poviglio (Emilia Romagna region, 1550–1170 BC). The study is carried out as a project thesis of the PhD Course in "Models and Methods for Material and Environmental Sciences", under the supervision of the professors A.M. Mercuri (Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia) and M. Cremaschi (Università degli Studi di Milano). Pollen from the cores represent near-site and off-site data, which can be compared with the onsite studies to reconstruct the environmental changes that had occurred at both local and regional scale [2] in the area, during and after the Bronze Age. The study will improve knowledge on the cultural development and specific adaptive behaviours adopted by the Terramare populations. Most evidence, in fact, suggests that they were settled in a territory that probably was characterized by over-exploitation of the resources during a period of climate change (dry phase c. 3.6 ka cal. BP).